Category: Uncategorized

The 2024 Annual Report issued by the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) includes descriptive information related to the processing of cases in the juvenile justice system and the use of facilities that serve juveniles.  Highlights include a notable increase in motor vehicle-related property offenses and increased demand for capacity in juvenile detention facilities. This post explores these highlights. All the data included below comes from the 2024 Annual Report unless otherwise noted.

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) prohibits the possession of firearms by a person who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.” Is that constitutional as to a regular marijuana user who is not impaired at the time he possesses a gun? Last week, the Supreme Court granted review in a case that presents that question. The answer has implications for state court, as explained below.

Thieves broke into a gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris early Sunday morning, stole some of France’s priceless crown jewels, and escaped on scooters, as reported by the BBC and the NYT. Around 9:30 a.m. (local time), shortly after the museum had opened to visitors, four masked thieves used a vehicle-mounted electric ladder to gain access to a balcony overlooking the River Seine. Two thieves cut through a window with a disc cutter – setting off security alarms – and entered the Galerie d’Apollon, where they threatened security guards and stole items from two display cases. The thieves snatched eight objects, including a sapphire necklace, an emerald necklace, and a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. Read on for more criminal law news.

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions released by the Supreme Court of North Carolina on October 17, 2025.

NBC has this article up about the top national criminal law story of the moment. It notes that “[a] federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday, making him the third critic of President Donald Trump to face criminal charges in recent weeks.” The article goes on to state that “Bolton was indicted in federal court in Maryland, where he lives and where prosecutors have been investigating whether he improperly retained classified materials after his acrimonious departure from the first Trump administration. The indictment charges him with eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.” The transmission counts apparently are based on Bolton sending diary-style materials to two relatives. Bolton’s legal team contends that he is innocent and has been unfairly targeted based on his acrimonious relationship with President Trump.

Earlier this month, the School of Government’s Criminal Justice Innovation Lab released our final report evaluating the Burlington Police Department’s mental health co-responder program. This report is the culmination of a two-year partnership between the School, the Burlington Police Department, RHA Health Services, and the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police. The evaluation speaks to the impact of the co-responder program on the police department, the clients served, and the broader community. We also included recommendations on data collection for other agencies that may be interested to conduct similar evaluations. This post summarizes the findings and the recommendations.

I recently completed a new paper on contracts between cities and sheriffs for law enforcement services. It is available here.

Dozens of North Carolina municipalities have decided not to operate their own police departments, and instead have entered into contracts with their local sheriffs’ offices for designated levels of law enforcement services. There are plusses and minuses to such arrangements, which the paper details. It also notes some of the terms that parties considering such contracts may wish to include, and discusses the formalities required for each side to enter into such agreements.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Ghislaine Maxwell’s convictions for sex trafficking of a minor and other crimes this week, according to SCOTUSblog. Maxwell, the longtime partner and co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison. The denial marks the end of Maxwell’s hopes for relief on direct appeal. On the Second Amendment front, the Court recently agreed to hear a challenge to Hawaii’s criminal prohibition on carrying concealed handguns on private property without express authorization by the property owner. The Ninth Circuit previously upheld the law. The Court declined to review a decision of the Eighth Circuit striking down Missouri’s law forbidding state law enforcement officials from enforcing federal gun rules that state officials believe violate the Second Amendment, as noted here (a deeper analysis of the case is here for those interested). Read on for more criminal law news.

The federal government entered a partial shutdown this week. The shutdown has had sweeping effects, including disruptions to law enforcement and judicial proceedings. The Justice Department announced that while federal prosecutors and criminal investigations will continue, civil cases and some immigration court proceedings will be delayed. The shutdown also affects funding for federal law enforcement training and grants to local police departments. President Trump has demanded sweeping immigration and border security measures in exchange for signing a funding bill, while House Republicans remain divided over spending priorities. If the impasse continues, furloughs could hit FBI analysts, ATF inspections, and U.S. Marshals’ prisoner transport operations, potentially causing further delays in prosecutions and court schedules nationwide. Read on for more criminal law news.

This week, the General Assembly passed H 307, Iryna’s Law. The bill follows the murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte last month. The measure is now with Governor Stein. If it becomes law, it would make a number of changes to proceedings involving pretrial release; would add a new aggravating sentencing factor; would alter the way magistrates may be disciplined; would require hearings on capital MARs normally be held within 24 months of filing; and would expand the permissible methods of execution, among other things. WRAL has some information about the bill’s progress through the legislature here, and a piece here exploring the decision that Governor Stein now must make to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature. He has 10 days to decide. Keep reading for more news.